Svetlana Leonidovna Boginskaya (Belarusian: Святлана Леанідаўна Багінская, romanized: Sviatlana Lieanidauna Bahinskaya; born February 9, 1973) is a former artistic gymnast for the Soviet Union and Belarus of Belarusian origin. She is a three-time Olympic champion, with an individual gold medal on vault from the 1988 Summer Olympics and team gold medals from the 1988 and 1992 Summer Olympics.
Boginskaya was born in Minsk, Belarus on February 9, 1973.[citation needed] She practiced figure skating before beginning gymnastics at age six,[1] after seeing Nadia Comăneci compete at the Olympics.[2] Two years later, she moved to Moscow to train full-time at the Round Lake Gymnastics Center, where she trained with Lyubov Miromanova.[citation needed]
Boginskaya became a member of the Soviet national team at age 14. She competed internationally for the first time at the 1987 World Championships, where she placed third on balance beam; the team placed second. She went on to compete in the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea, where she won four medals: gold in the team competition, gold on vault, silver on floor, and bronze in the individual all-around.[1]
Three days after the Olympics, Boginskaya's longtime coach, Lyubov Miromanova, died by suicide. Miromanova had been a surrogate mother to Boginskaya, coaching and caring for her after she moved from Minsk to train full-time in Moscow.[citation needed]
After Miromanova's death, Boginskaya began training with Tatiana Grosovivich. Under Grosovivich's tutelage, Boginskaya competed at the 1989 European Women's Artistic Gymnastics Championships, where she received gold in all-round, vault, and floor. Later that year, she placed first in all-around, floor, and team events at the 1989 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships,[1] eventually dedicating her performance to her late mentor.
The following year, Boginskaya became the fourth woman to win the gold medal in every individual event at the European Championships. She also competed at the FIG World Cup, where she placed first on floor.[1]
In 1991, Boginskaya won gold at the World Championships on beam and silver in the all-around; the team won gold.[1] In a controversial finish,[according to whom?] Boginskaya lost the gold medal in the all-around to American gymnast Kim Zmeskal.[citation needed]
In 1992, Boginskaya competed at the European Championships, where she won gold on beam[1] with a score of 9.95. However, she fell during her final event, the floor exercise, ultimately finishing fifth in the all-around. Her teammate, Tatiana Gutsu, received the all-around title. Despite Boginskaya's fall on floor, she remained a favorite to win the all-around title at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.[citation needed] At the World Championships, Boginskaya won gold on vault and was selected for the Unified Team at the 1992 Summer Olympics.[1] Many in the gymnastics world expected a duel between Boginskaya and Zmeskal at the Olympics, and the media promoted this story.[citation needed] At the Olympic games, Boginskaya won her third Olympic gold in the team competition;[1] in the individual competition, she faltered on the uneven bars and finished fifth in the individual all-around; Zmeskal finished tenth.[citation needed]
Following the 1992 Olympics, Boginskaya retired. However, she returned to the sport in 1995, stating that she had been inspired by Katarina Witt who had a memorable comeback at the 1994 Winter Olympics.[1] Boginskaya moved to Houston, Texas to train with Bela Karolyi and upgraded the difficulty of her routines.[citation needed] At the 1995 European Championships, she won silver in the all-around.[1]
In 1996, at age 23, she placed second in the all-around at the American Cup behind one of Karolyi's pupils, Kerri Strug. She also placed second at the European Championships in Birmingham behind the defending world champion Lilia Podkopayeva. She then progressed to the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, where she was one of a number of older gymnasts competing.[citation needed] Boginskaya competed in the all-around and vault finals, but did not medal. The Belarusian team came in sixth.[1]
Following the 1996 Olympics, Boginskaya retired from gymnastics.[1]
Boginskaya is among a small group of women to have competed in three Olympic Games; and due to the break-up of the Soviet Union, she competed at each Games under a different flag: USSR, the Unified Team, and Belarus. She was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2005.[3]
Boginskaya has remained active in both the American and international gymnastics communities, and works as a consulting guest coach. In the early 2010s, she frequently supported former teammate Oksana Chusovitina, who continues to compete in her late 40s, and has appeared on the competition floor as her coach.[citation needed]
Boginskaya runs several businesses, including an online gymnastics apparel retailer and a summer camp for gymnasts.[2]
After the 1992 Olympics, Boginskaya appeared alongside her compatriot Vitaly Scherbo in the music video for the song "Revolution Earth," by The B-52's.
Boginskaya's floor routine at the 1988 Olympics was done to the music of Georges Bizet's Carmen, and another routine she performed in parts of 1990 and 1991 was choreographed by the Bolshoi Ballet. Her uneven bars exercise included a signature giant to handstand with 180° split into a toe-on element. Commentators and reporters cited her height and slim stature as elements she used to her advantage through attention to posture and body alignment; meanwhile they also suggested that she relied more on execution and presentation than difficulty, though she did usually fulfill requirements and earn 10.0 start values. She frequently landed dismounts and vaults with her right foot placed slightly in front of her left, an intentional touch of artistry that also helped her stick landings.
Boginskaya lives in Houston, Texas with her husband and two children.[2]